HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — "These temperatures are a little unusual for June and they kind of hit us out of the blue. So, everyone turns on their air conditioning units at once and that creates an extreme demand on the TVA generation system," said Communications and Public Relations Manager with Decatur Utilities, Joe Holmes.
These unusually high temperatures call for an unusually high rate of electrical use... mainly from running A/C.
"We set a record on Monday (June 13, 2022) with a load of 31,300 megawatts. That's the highest in June since 2012," said TVA Spokesperson Scott Fiedler.
That's why the TVA has been voluntarily requesting that folks reduce the amount of power they use during this heat wave.
"When we see extreme temperatures both hot and cold, we ask the public to voluntarily reduce the amount of power they use. That not only helps the system out but it also helps your pocketbook because we know high temperatures that could also scorch your wallet if you're not a smart energy consumer," said Fiedler.
Luckily, it's easy to save energy and save your money:
"It's just as simple as turning up your thermostat a few degrees," said Fiedler.
"We realize it's hot, we realize you want to be comfortable but every degree, every couple of degrees makes a huge difference in how much that unit is having to work, which in turn reduces the overall electric load throughout the valley," said Holmes.
But how much of a difference does each degree really make?
"Every degree saves about 3% on your power bill," said Fiedler.
And in order to save that energy and money, what is the ideal temperature you should set your home to?
"78 degrees is actually the optimum. People kind of throw things at us when we say that because that is a warm temperature but you can do some things at home like set your ceiling fans to turn counterclockwise. That'll create an actual wind chill effect across your skin and help offset a few of those degrees," said Holmes.
As for further cutting down on the heat in your home without using power, the TVA suggests:
"Instead of using the oven or stove when you cook tonight, go grill out and if you can't grill out, use your microwave," said Fiedler.